Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait - Softcover

Norman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0752442880 ISBN 13: 9780752442884

Publisher: History Press Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

In Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait, Dr Andrew Norman delves deep into the crime writer’s past to discover the desperate insecurity that sparked her disappearance in 1926. Agatha Christie suffered from recurrent nightmares where she was petrified that one or other of her family would be replaced by a terrifying figure called the ‘Gunman’ and lost to her forever. She was reminded of this figure both when her father died, and when her husband Archie demanded a divorce. This event precipitated such a crisis in Agatha’s mind that she became temporarily unhinged. She lost her memory and assumed a new identity: that of her husband’s mistress. Only now, thirty years after Agatha’s death, is it possible to explain fully, in the light of scientific knowledge, her behaviour during her troubled disappearance, when she lived incognito in a Harrogate hotel.

One of Agatha’s novels, Unfinished Portrait, which is largely autobiographical, gives a unique insight into how the heroine, Celia (who is really Agatha in disguise), may have managed finally to rid herself of the Gunman and go on to lead a happier and more fulfilled life. By deciphering clues from this and her other works, Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait sheds light on what is perhaps the greatest mystery of all to be associated with Agatha Christie, namely that of the person herself.

About this title

Synopsis:

When Agatha Christie, the so-called 'Queen of Crime', disappeared from her home in Sunningdale in Berkshire for eleven days on 3 December 1927, the whole nation held its breath. The following day, when her car was found abandoned fourteen miles away, a nationwide search was instigated. From a painstaking reconstruction of Agatha's movements and behaviour during those eleven days, Dr Andrew Norman is able to shed new light on what, in many ways, has remained a baffling mystery. Only now, fifty years after Agatha's death, is it possible to explain fully, in the light of scientific knowledge, her behaviour during that troubled time. By deciphering clues from her celebrated works, "Agatha Christie: The Finished Portrait" sheds light on what is perhaps the greatest mystery of all to be associated with Britain's best-loved crime writer, namely that of the person herself.

About the Author:

Dr Andrew Norman graduated in animal physiology from St Edmund Hall, Oxford before qualifying in medicine from the Radcliffe Infirmary. He worked as a GP until 1983, and is now an established writer. He is the author of several biographies, including Adolf Hitler: The Final Analysis, published by Spellmount, and Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Sherlock Homes, also by Tempus. He lives in Poole, Dorset.

About this edition

• Publisher: History Press Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0752442880
• ISBN 13: 9780752442884
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192